This invention relates generally to a machine for receiving green or dry cores from a turf aeration machine that removes plugs or cores of earth from the ground, such as is done on golf courses to enhance the growth of the grasses, and removing the earth from the vegetation thatch. This invention relates more specifically to an apparatus that utilizes a rotating scrubbing action to reduce the cores to the vegetation thatch and return the earth to the ground, while collecting the remaining vegetation thatch.
Aeration machines are well known in the art. These machine drive a hollow tine into the ground to create a plug of earth that is lifted above the surface of the ground and deposited on the surface. Generally, green cores, i.e. cores of earth freshly elevated from the moist ground, have to be dried for 2 to 4 hours, depending on the weather conditions, before the earthen portion can be removed from the vegetation thatch on top of the plug and the associated root system. It is preferable to return the earthen portion of the cores to the ground; however, the organic matter needs to be removed from the aerated site. Alternatively, the cores can be removed from the aerated site and taken to a remote location for subsequent handling.
While the task of aerating is a highly labor intensive job, the cost of clean-up after aeration is as great as aeration itself. Known core processing machines, such as found in U.S. Pat. No. 1,368,113 and in U.S. Pat. No. 3,410,350, suffer from a substantial problem of plugging, particularly if the cores are not adequately dried before collecting and processing. If the cores are not dried adequately, the moist earthen portion from the cores plug the core processing machines. Under some conditions, the cores can be dried too much and the earth cannot be broken-up properly for satisfactory disposal thereof.
Using golf courses as an exemplary environment typically utilizing aeration to improve the quality of the turf on which the players play, it is undesirable to hinder play for the aeration process. Golf courses and their members do not want their pastime interrupted by maintenance crews and, as a result, the aeration is intentionally done in as short a time as possible. The cores can be picked-up and removed from the ground and taken to a remote location, but this process is very labor intensive and requires the transportation of the green cores from the course. Even cores temporarily left on the ground immediately following the aeration process can be run over by the aeration machine on its next pass, creating problems with a clean pick-up of the cores. Preferably, the cores are not left on the ground for an indeterminate period, even in areas not highly frequented, as mowing becomes complicated due to the cores plugging the mowers and prematurely dulling mower blades.
Current core destroying technology involves the utilization of a machine commonly referred to as a xe2x80x9cverti-cutterxe2x80x9d. This machine is provided with a series of vertically oriented blades that are passed over the surface of the ground to slice cores into finer particles. If the cores are still wet, also know as being xe2x80x9cgreenxe2x80x9d, the verti-cutter can become plugged or wrapped with the vegetation thatch, associated root system and moist earth that is separated from the rest of the core and carried around the vertical blades.
Other known core destroying machines use a cylindrical rotating screen to separate the earth from the organic matter. Such machines require extensive screening area and become quite cumbersome in both handling and operation. Furthermore, the longitudinally extending rotary screen requires a consolidation of the swath of cores into a transversely smaller area, resulting in a dense collection of cores to be destroyed and a concentrated distribution of earth discharged back to the ground. Also, machines using a rotary screen are difficult to couple to an aeration machine so as to receive green cores directly therefrom.
A rotary aeration core processing machine, such as depicted and described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,239, entitled xe2x80x9cCore Guide Apparatus for Aeration Core Harvesting Machinexe2x80x9d and granted to Kenneth R. Underhill on Nov. 7, 2000, can be configured with a single processing rotor or paddle assembly, which will provide an adequate destruction of the aeration cores, or alternatively pass the aeration cores over the top of the paddle assembly to be collected in a hopper positioned rearwardly of the processing rotor. To provide sufficient screen contact with the single processing rotor, the thatch portion of the aeration cores remaining after the earthen portion has been disintegrated and passed through the holes in the screen, was found to be too light to move rearwardly into the collection hopper. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus to cause the thatch portion to move rearwardly after being discharged from the single processing rotor, without interfering with the collection of the intact aeration cores when passing over top of the single processing rotor when placed into a core collection mode of operation.
It is an object of this invention to provide a core destroying machine operable to disintegrate wet or dry aeration cores with a single processing rotor while effecting a rearward transfer of the thatch portion after being discharged from the single processing rotor.
It is another object of this invention to provide a rotatable fluff roll positioned above the single processing rotor to engage thatch discharged from the single processing rotor and cause the thatch to move rearwardly into a collection hopper.
It is an advantage of this invention that the organic thatch material of the aeration cores is swept rearwardly by the fluff roll into a collection vessel.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a fluff roll construction that will not interfere with the passage of aeration cores into the collection hopper when the machine is being operated in a core collection mode.
It is a feature of this invention that the fluff roll is formed with extruded flexible plastic cords that are operable to engage pieces of thatch to propel them rearwardly into the collection hopper.
It is another advantage of this invention that the extruded flexible plastic cords will yield to any earthen pieces of aeration cores discharged from the single processing roll to allow the earthen pieces to be re-cycled back to the processing rotor.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a core destroying machine that is operable to destroy green aeration cores while utilizing a single rotary processing rotor.
It is still another feature of this invention that the paddle members of the processing rotor are formed as a rigid panel attached to a central rotor shaft for rotation therewith.
It is a yet another advantage of this invention that the paddle members are mounted to cooperate with screen mounted fins to help disintegrate aeration cores received from the core collection mechanism.
It is a further advantage of this invention that the operation of the core destroying machine is simple and efficient to enhance the effectiveness of the core destroying machine.
It is still a further feature of this machine that the comb member is also cooperable with the brush core pick-up mechanism to prevent the cores from being recirculated with the brush mechanism, thereby moving the aeration cores into engagement with the paddle members of the processing rotor.
It is still another feature of this invention that the core destroying machine reduces labor, minimizes compaction on the ground, enhances thatch decomposition, destroys both wet or dry cores, and provides flexibility for use at night as well as during the daylight hours.
It is still a further advantage of this invention that labor costs are reduced because of the reduced need for handling the wet aeration cores discharged from the aerator and because the aeration cores are handled faster.
It is yet a further advantage of this invention that the combined operation of an aerator and an attached core destroyer results in less traffic over the ground and, therefore, less compaction of the aerated ground surface.
It is still another object of this invention to provide a drive mechanism for a core destroying machine that is operable to convert the machine into a core collecting machine that merely collects the cores in a receptacle instead of destroying them.
It is yet a further feature of this invention that the single core destroying machine can be used selectively as a core destroying and a core collecting machine.
It is yet a further advantage of this machine that the drive mechanism can be changed to convert the machine between core destroying and core collecting modes by simply re-orienting a drive belt entrained around drive members for the rotary beaters.
It is still another feature of this invention that the fluff roll is driven in the same rotation direction whether the machine is in a core destroying mode of operation or a core collecting mode of operation.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a core destroying machine that is operable to disintegrate wet or dry aeration cores and which is durable in construction, inexpensive of manufacture, carefree of maintenance, facile in assemblage, and simple and effective in use.
These and other objects, features and advantages are accomplished according to the instant invention by providing a core destroying machine utilizing a single processing rotor cooperable with an arcuate screen member to disintegrate aeration cores therebetween. The arcuate screen member is configured to discharge thatch from the single processing rotor in a generally vertical direction into engagement with a rotating fluff roll. The fluff roll is configured with a pair of opposing rigid bats affixed to a central shaft for rotation around an axis of rotation. A plurality of extruded flexible plastic cords extend from the rigid bats into the direction of rotation of the fluff roll to engage the thatch portions discharged from the processing rotor and urge the thatch portions rearwardly into a collection hopper. The flexible plastic cords yield to any earthen pieces of aeration cores that might be discharged from the processing rotor to permit the discharged earthen pieces to be re-cycled back toward the processing rotor. The processing rotor can be driven in opposing directions to enable the core destroying machine to be operated in a core collection mode. The fluff roll is operable to direct the intact aeration cores passing over the top of the processing rotor rearwardly into the collection hopper.